It’s undeniable that there’s quite a bit going on with race relations and injustices in America right now. It was only this weekend that Usher wore a ‘Juneteenth’ tee at the Essence Music Festival and asked “Have we truly achieved our independence?” Well it seems that on Twitter, a social media celebrity was taking beauty bloggers to task for not being as vocal.
Luvvie Ajayi is known for her stern reads and epic rants dispersed through her websites and dispatched in parts through her Twitter feed — soon she’ll have a book to deliver the tea called “I’m Judging You.” Last week the subject of her latest rant was quite surprising: black beauty bloggers. She started things off with:
Black beauty bloggers, I know yall have “brands” but so many of you have kept on like ain’t shit happening but makeup. You cute, doe.
— Awesomely Luvvie (@Luvvie) July 1, 2015
Of course, that was only the beginning. What followed was the Twitter star taking bloggers to task for staying silent a time when the community needs as many voices as possible and all for money. She fired off a few resounding dispatches:
Bloggers who are afraid to speak up for fear of losing ad dollars. Companies who would get offended aren’t the ones giving you $ ANYWAY.
— Awesomely Luvvie (@Luvvie) July 1, 2015
You’re going after multicultural brand dollars but won’t say nothing as the people you “target” are being targeted in the streets. Ok den.
— Awesomely Luvvie (@Luvvie) July 1, 2015
You can read the full thing in order as it was archived by Luvvie herself. But of course, this wouldn’t be the internet if her critique didn’t come with a critique of it’s own. Gina McCauly of What About Our Daughters took up the mantle, criticizing Ajayi’s assessment saying “This is about attempting to dictate how Black women must grieve in public. Not even our sorrow belongs to us.“
McCauly explained: “Black women and girls have a right to have spaces where they can be carefree, flighty, flaky, frivolous, and funny. Occasionally we need a break. For some people, that’s a beauty blog.“
What do you think? Being fashion/beauty bloggers/journalists here at The Fashion Bomb, we think it’s a pretty interesting conversation. We definitely are advocates of covering diversity issues — we’re really predicated on the idea — and see where Luvvie is coming from.
I personally am a little conflicted on the issue. When I marched in New York’s Millions March and brought photographer Karl Pierre along to capture images, I was accused of doing so for a photo op, and questioned on my choice of attire.
When I suggested a Served Fresh t-shirt acknowledging reckless killings for Bomb Product of the Day, many on Instagram shamed Served Fresh for ‘profiting off of pain.’
Even when I sussed out a fashion moment from Solange Knowles, when she protested Trayvon Martin’s wrongful death, I was lambasted for not focusing on the main issue at hand.
I’ve actually been so criticized for attempting to stay on the style topic while showing awareness of current events, that I’ve concluded that fashion, style, and intensely charged political issues don’t mix. So if I march, I march without a camera man or a blog post. If I support, I do so in silence because I feel anything else will be seen as frivolous. And because fashion is, at its core, 100% frivolous, I’ve concluded that perhaps these issues don’t have a place on a fashion blog.
What do you think? Should fashion and beauty bloggers stick to their lipsticks and clothes or should they use the enormous platforms they’ve garnered in even the smallest of ways to support their communities?
And if so, how?
